Troy Bayliss has smashed the lap record at Hidden Valley Raceway at Round 4 of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship.
Bayliss’s lap of 1:05.601 hands him the inaugural Elite Roads Superbike Pole Position award, awarding the Ducati rider not just pole position but also $500. The veteran handled the Darwin sun with no problems and has given himself the best chance to take out his first ASBK race win tomorrow. The majority of the best times were set in qualifying one, including Bayliss’ lap.
The three time WorldSBK Champion was thrilled with his efforts and is feeling the best he has on the bike; “The team at DesmoSport Ducati have had a great weekend and we have made some great progress, and I am feeling great on the bike, the best I have all year. I am really enjoying my time back in ASBK and I just want to continue on and do a good job for our team and sponsors tomorrow,” finished Bayliss.
YMI Superbike Championship leader, Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing, Honda CBR1000SP) will start from second position after registering a 1:05.871 late in the second qualifying session. Herfoss found some serious speed towards the back end of Q2 and will be right in the mix for tomorrow races.
Bryan Staring (Kawasaki BCperformance, ZX-10R) was pipped late in qualifying session two and will start from third position with his time of 1:06.088. This is the best position on the grid Staring has managed in season 2018, giving the Kawasaki rider a good chance of picking up his second win of the season.
Another rider who found speed late in qualifying session two was Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) clocking a 1:06.514, putting him in fourth position.
Rounding out the top five was the defending YMI Superbike champion Josh Waters (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, GSX-R100R) with a time of 1:06.890. Waters will be a threat tomorrow after making significant improvement from practice on Friday.
Daniel Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) will start from sixth position after his lap of 1:06.376. Leading the way for the privateers was Jamie Stauffer (Craig McMartin Racing, Ducati Panigale R) who finished in seventh, after putting together a 1:06.429.
The stage is set for tomorrow’s YMI Superbike races, can Bayliss grab his first ASBK victory? Or will it be Herfoss to extend his points lead and put his stamp on the championship?
Tune in from 11:05am for race one, and then race two will be coming to you from 1:35pm.
YMI Superbike Qualifying Provisional Results
1. Troy BAYLISS (Desmosport Ducati, Ducati 1299 FE) 1:05.601
2. Troy HERFOSS (Penrite Honda Racing, Honda CBR RR SP) 1:05.871
3. Bryan STARING (Kawasaki BCperformance, Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:06.088
4. Wayne MAXWELL (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M) 1:06.249
5. Josh WATERS (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, Suzuki GSX-RR) 1:06.300
6. Daniel FALZON (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M) 1:06.376
7. Jamie STAUFFER (Craig McMartin Racing, Ducati Panigale R) 1:06.429
8. Glenn ALLERTON (NextGen Motorsports, BMW S RR) 1:06.603
9. Mark CHIODO (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, Suzuki GSX-RR) 1:06.640
10. Matt WALTERS (Swann Insurance Superbike, Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:07.069
